Announcing our new chapter!
Latin@Hispan@ Alumni Chapter

El Centro de la Raza and other partner organizations are excited to announce an alumni chapter dedicated to address the needs and aspirations of the Latino/Hispano/Chicano community.

I couldn't be more pleased this new alumni chapter has been initiated. Alumni engagement is critical to the long-term health and success of our university and this chapter has incredible potential and will play an important role as we forge and sustain cherished relationships with our alumni."

—Brian Colón, UNM Alumni Association Board of Directors

According to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) UNM is among the best universities in the nation for Latinos/Hispanos. Their rankings were based on the amount of Latino students enrolled in different colleges, availability of cultural centers, degree programs and scholarships dedicated to enhancing the experiences of Latino students.

"I am pleased that we are beginning a UNM Latino Alumni Chapter which is very appropriate since we are one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions plus a Carnegie Very High Research university and this combination makes us very unique." Says Dr. Eliseo Torres, Vice President for Student Affairs at UNM.

The new UNM Latin@/Hispan@ Alumni Chapter — approved by the UNM Alumni Association Board of Directors, February, 2015 — will be dedicated to foster a spirit of community and pride and to promote the general welfare of Alumni and current Latino/Hispano students at UNM.

We are excited to create a space for former and current students to advance through mentorship, fundraising and networking. This is an occasion to celebrate and invite back our Raza alumni who traditionally may not have been involved as alumni but have pride in their degree from UNM. There are numerous Latino and Hispano leaders, who have created a vibrant, inclusive and prosperous future for our community and want to continue to do the same at UNM.”

—Rosa Isela Cervantes, El Centro de la Raza Director

What’s in a name?

It’s not a typo! The new UNM Latin@/Hipan@ Alumni Chapter has chosen to use the @ to include all alumni. Formal Spanish requires when a plural includes both masculine and feminine elements, the masculine noun is used. There is no gender neutral noun. This new chapter wants to declare that all alumni, regardless of gender are encouraged to be involved and join them, and have adopted the @ to represent both genders equally.